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Hello Again My Friends.
A couple of years ago I visited the stunning Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque located in Abu Dhabi. The beauty and peacefulness of the place left me breathless. I was also left wide eyed in awe of the loving craftsmanship of the decorations adorning the walls, floors and pillars of this holy place of worship.

Below are some photos that I took while I was there.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque – Abu Dhabi

Coloured marble and mother of pearl inlay on a pillar

I absolutely love this place and as a non-Muslim, I appreciate its peace, spirituality, beauty and the fact that everyone is welcome to visit.
SO last year, when I saw a book called “Constantinople Quilts” my antennae twanged like mad and I had to get myself a copy. At the time I was stony broke but promised myself I would buy it next time I saw it.

Well, guess what? Even better than buying a copy, I received an invitation from my local quilt shop in Dubai, Classic Quilts, to attend a session with none other than the lovely, talented author herself – Tamsin Harvey.
Anyone who knows me will know that I jumped up and down with joy at the prospect.

Tamsin brought the quilts from her book to Dubai and told us the story of their creation; from her initial inspirations from the Iznik tiles, of her family connection with Turkey from the First World War, the photography of the quilts in the historic locations in Istanbul and the stitching and technical twiddly bits that only quilters really want to know.
Throughout her presentation to us I felt her passion, joy and love of her craft, of her inspirations and the journey she is still travelling in bringing it all to us; the crafter and reader.

I not only came away happily clutching a signed copy of Tamsin’s book, “Constantinople Quilts” I also came away filled with inspiration and excitement; an impatient excitement to get going with my dreams and ideas.
Thank you to Mala Ramakrishnan of Classic Quilts http://classicquiltsdubai.com/ for arranging this session and thank you to Tamsin from Berrima Patchwork NSW Australia https://www.berrimapatchwork.com.au/ for visiting us in Dubai and kicking my mojo back where it should be.